The present invention relates to a temporary roadway of the type having a rolled state and having an unrolled state wherein the roadway extends along a line, the roadway including a plurality of supporting elements which are disposed beside one another in the direction of the line when the roadway is in its unrolled state, and including a plurality of hinge means for articulatedly connecting the supporting elements to one another. Each hinge means, which is disposed transverse to the line when the roadway is in its unrolled state, includes a bead affixed to one supporting element and a claw affixed to an adjacent element, the claw providing a recess that is engaged by the bead. The invention also relates to an apparatus for rolling up an installed temporary roadway.
Temporary roadways of the above-mentioned type are installed on ground that is not solid and that is usually uneven to permit heavy vehicles to travel over such ground. The ground may be muddy, sandy, or loose (as in coal or garbage dumps), or it may include water-soluble components (as the roads in a salt mine). The temporary roadway may provide roll-out panels or tracks in which the supporting elements are arranged one behind the other in a row, or it may be configured as a rollable carpet in which the supporting elements are arranged offset with respect to one another in a manner somewhat like bricks in a wall.
Temporary roadways with hinge joints in which a bead engages in a claw-shaped recess are disclosed, inter alia, in German (published) patent application No. 2,248,321 and in German (published without examination) patent application No. 3,241,104, where the supporting elements are configured as plates or hollow members having continuous upper and lower surfaces.
If a vehicle wheel is disposed on a hinge joint in the form of a bead and a claw between two supporting elements, with such joint being located over a hollow in the ground produced by erosion or the flow of water, considerable tensile stresses are produced in the hinge joint. As is the case in the temporary roadway disclosed in German application No. 3,241,104, the claw-shaped joint portion may open up so that the bead is pulled out or, as in the case of the temporary roadway according to German application No. 2,248,321, the angular web supporting the claw-shaped recess may break from the concentrated stress. Another drawback is that the joint, which is configured to have a loose fit, may become clogged with mud or dust, at least after some time of use. Such clogging would considerably impair the agility of the joint.
German application No. 2,248,321 discloses the use of a roller for installing and removing the temporary roadway, with such a roller being mounted either on a bearing block on the load surface of a utility vehicle or in a rigid frame articulated to the front of the vehicle. It is additionally known to use a winch-like device which is equipped with a central pipe, the pipe being provided over its entire length with a plurality of fixed supporting elements. The supporting elements are generally star-shaped and their peripheries are equipped, over the entire width of the device, with through-going supports or beams. Due to the large number of supporting elements and the through-going beams, this device is extremely heavy. After the temporary roadway has been rolled up, this device is raised by a vehicular crane with the aid of a cable and is loaded onto a transporting vehicle.